Advancements in technology have enabled factory applications to become partially or completely automated. For example, applications that once required workers to put themselves proximate to heavy machinery and other various hazardous conditions can now be completed at a safe distance from such hazards. Further, imperfections associated with human action have been minimized through employment of highly precise machines. Many of these factory devices supply data related to manufacturing to databases that are accessible by system/process/project managers on a factory floor. For instance, sensors can detect a number of times a particular machine has completed an operation given a set amount of time. Further, sensors can deliver data to a processing unit relating to system alarms. Thus, a factory automation system can review collected data and automatically and/or semi-automatically schedule maintenance of a device, replacement of a device, and other various procedures that relate to automating a process.
Often, it is impractical to network each device in an automation system to a central facility/system. In other words, frequently several devices/systems employed in an automation context are disconnected from a centralized automation system. Particularly, automation systems that include security features can include a plurality of disconnected devices, wherein such devices are associated with security that either permits or denies access to a disconnected device. For instance, upon entering a correct username and password to a disconnected device, a technician or other user can obtain complete access to the disconnected device. These stand-alone control systems are typically distributed and can be isolated from any centralized supervision. Examples of these systems include portable batch machines, vending machines, door and lift controls for a vehicle (e.g., a bus, a subway car, . . . ), ski lifts, roller coasters, etc. To provide these systems with constant access to a network would be extremely costly. For instance, in the case of a vending machine at a particular geographic location, a substantial amount of cabling and/or expensive wireless peripherals would be required to enable constant network access to such machine. Similarly, structural issues arise when attempting to network all devices and/or systems utilized in a roller coaster and/or ski lift.
While it is often impractical to provide these and other similar devices with advanced networking capabilities, it is often imperative that these machines be associated with adequate security. For example, portable batch machines can be employed in connection with manufacturing a pharmaceutical, food product, and/or other ingestible item. Further, these portable batch machines can include a recipe that is employed in connection with manufacturing such ingestible items. Insufficient security could allow an unauthorized user to manipulate the recipe or data relating to the recipe within the batch machine, thus compromising safety of those who consume products manufactured based upon the recipe. In another example, insufficient security with respect to a roller coaster and/or ski lift can result in horrendous tragedy. For a specific example, if inadequate security exists with respect to a roller coaster, a technician can accidentally modify a control system with respect to speed control and/or braking. Particularly, a controller that is employed to control brakes at a particular curve can be accidentally manipulated, thereby turning off such brakes or providing insufficient braking. Accordingly, passengers of the roller coaster can be placed in extreme peril. Security is conventionally provided to such devices by implementing security-related functionality at time of manufacture of the disconnected devices. For instance, a vending machine can include data storage and processing capabilities, and user access requirements can be stored in the data storage. Specifically, a user-name and pin number can be required for a user who desires access to an infrastructure of the vending machine. Thereafter the technician can operate on disparate aspects of such vending machine without causing security features to trigger, such as generation of an alarm. Problems arise, however, when a new technician requires access to the vending machine and/or when a technician no longer desirably has access to such machine (e.g., the technician changes jobs, the technician's employment is terminated, the technician retires, . . . ). Accordingly, access privileges often require alteration to maintain security of a disconnected device and/or system.
Conventional security systems require a security technician to travel to individual machines to alter security regulations. Thus, for instance, if a technician whose employment was terminated had access to a plurality of disconnected devices in a geographic region, each of the disconnected devices must be visited to alter access privileges. This individual alteration is costly in terms of both monetary expense and time-loss of a qualified technician. Specifically, both money and resources are spent during a technician's visit to a plurality of disparate locations in order to maintain security of the disconnected devices. Further, there is a storage burden relating to these disconnected devices, wherein sufficient data storage capabilities are required to retain access information for each individual who is authorized to access the system/device.
In view of at least the above, there exists a need in the art for a system and/or methodology for providing an efficient security system with respect to disconnected devices.